30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge - Day 10

I'm thankful for quiet mornings when the only sound outside is water from the fish pond.

And I'm extremely thankful that our fish are still alive.

We had a scare over the weekend. Every fall we remove the UV filter so that the winter snow and ice don't damage it. We did that on Friday, but apparently something got knocked loose and all the water drained out of the pond. I didn't realize this until late Saturday afternoon when I happened to go outside. I saw a dry pond and the goldfish were all laying at the bottom, completely still. I didn't know how long they had been like that and figured they were dead. After screaming "Oh %$#!" more than a few times, I  started throwing buckets of water into the pond to refill it while my husband hooked up the garden hose and checked other settings. As the pond started filling with water, some of the fish started moving. By some miracle, THEY WERE ALL ALIVE! All five goldfish bounced back and started swimming around within minutes. We saw the biggest fish's mouth opening and closing rapidly, gasping for breath, poor thing. My husband added some chemicals to regulate the balance of the water, and we crossed our fingers that the stress of such a traumatic event wouldn't kill them either. On Sunday morning, the pond was still full of water (phew!) and all five fish were present and accounted for.  Maybe fish have nine lives too.

{I'm linking up with The Whimsical Gardener's 30 Day Challenge to post about something you're thankful for every day. All my posts related to this challenge are found under the giving thanks tag.}

Our Goldfish Pond

I've done an entire post on our new kitten and have shown pics of our sweet 3-year-old cat, so now I want to mention our gilled garden companions. This goldfish pond was part of the house when we bought it, and we love listening to the soothing sounds of the running water. The birds and squirrels seem to like it too, and we frequently see them stopping by for a drink.

The pond has five goldfish and water lilies which bloom briefly every spring. Our first year in the house, there was a huge toad that lived in the pond. We'd see it swimming and sitting on the lily pads or hiding under the Japanese maple that's near the pond. Last year we saw the toad and a smaller frog briefly in early spring. We were excited that there were two, and then they disappeared. We didn't see either of them again for the rest of the 2010 summer. We hoped to see one or both again this year, but we didn't see anything this spring either, and then...

...a few weeks ago, we saw a little frog! This picture is awful, but it's the only proof I have that there's a frog in the pond!  I've read that frogs are a sign that your pond is healthy, so I'm very happy to see it. He should have plenty to eat with all the mosquitos and flies swarming about, and I hope he stays and invites a couple of friends too.

Do you have a pond in your yard?  

A Few June Blooms

While I wait for my vegetables to pop out, I'm enjoying some of the blooms that have appeared in my garden.

water lily from our goldfish pond

The goldfish pond has four water lilies in bloom. I don't have a picture of all four in bloom and will have to wait for the weekend to capture that shot since they only open in the morning. Sadly, I haven't seen our resident pond frog this spring. I hope he (or she?) returns. A couple of years ago we saw a second frog, a smaller one, but it didn't stay long and we haven't seen it since.

The butterfly bush has flowers; now they just need to turn purple. I've seen many white and yellow sulfurs fluttering around it.

endless summer hydrangeas

An Endless Summer hydrangea bloom in two shades.

cucumber plant

The cucumber plant has a blossom. It's always exciting to see blossoms appear on the vegetables.

coconut ice sunflower seedling

After planting them just last week, two Coconut Ice sunflower seedlings have emerged. They look very similar to the Chianti Hybrids (oh, please don't let me have mixed up the seeds).

The petunias don't seem to mind the heat. I come home from work and all the other flowers, like the hydrangeas, are drooping over, but the petunias are always perky.

Today I'm linking to May Dreams Gardens Garden Blogger Bloom Day. There are lots of beautiful flowers in bloom this month.